Letters to the editor

Tools

Midtown hipster Craig Brewer has created the ultimate ode to Midtown
hipsters in MTV's $5 Cover ("MTV Does Memphis," April 30th
issue). I didn't have a lot of hope about this venture being any good.
But, after seeing the first show, I admit to being sort of impressed.
Maybe it's because I've seen these musicians perform live, but even in
their alter egos they seem to be playing themselves, which isn't a bad
thing.

Maybe "genuine" is too strong a word for the show, but it's
definitely more "real" than most of the so-called reality television
that is infecting the airwaves these days. Kudos to all concerned.
Maybe this show will put Memphis music back in the spotlight, where it
belongs, and bring the current scene out from under the shadow of its
legendary past.

Brad Berry

Memphis

After six months of hype and relentless coverage by The
Commercial Appeal and the Flyer, $5 Cover is finally
here. I watched the first episodes online, and frankly, it ain't all
that great. The acting is stiff, as is the dialogue. The upside is that
it's no worse than most television soap operas, and the music is pretty
good (except for the inexplicable Muck Sticky), and it may give Memphis
some cachet among the MTV set.

Who knows, maybe we'll see an influx of local hipster tourists
wanting to check out the Hi-Tone and the New Daisy and hang out where
Harlan T. Bobo hangs out. Question is: Who the heck is watching MTV
these days?

Rebeccah Howard

Memphis

Conspiracy?

Regarding the election of judges: There exists a massive spoken or
unspoken conspiracy between the governor, the attorney general (who was
formerly the lawyer for the governor and is appointed by the Supreme
Court), various members of the legislature, the Tennessee Bar
Association, editorial-page editors of various newspapers, and, most
unhappily, members of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals to
violate the integrity of the Tennessee Constitution by claiming that
the members of the appellate courts can be perpetuated in office by
elections in which no other names can appear on the ballot to contest
those judges.

This conspiracy exists because those involved are willing to misread
the plain language of the Constitution of Tennessee, which limits the
power of the legislature, the governor, and the various appellate
judges from depriving the people of their inalienable right to elect
their judges in a contested election, no different from the election
for governor, legislators, and local officials.

John Jay Hooker

Nashville

Flashback

I enjoyed reading the "Flyer Flashback" about former sheriff A.C.
Gilless (April 30th issue). I worked in 201 Poplar in 1999, and I
remember the day the Flyer racks went missing. My co-workers
were asking what happened and if anyone had seen the Flyer. One
guy in my office went out at lunch and tracked down a copy. Once we saw
the cover story on Gilless' sexual harassment lawsuit, we figured out
the mystery pretty quickly.

It seems hard to believe, in retrospect, that any public official
would have the gall to try to pull such a stunt. But A.C. was
one-of-a-kind and — not to speak ill of the deceased —
thank God he's gone. That was an era of nepotism and corruption in the
sheriff's department that we'll hopefully never see the likes of
again.

Alvin Randolph

Memphis

A Modest Proposal

In Marty Aussenberg's Viewpoint column "A Modest Proposal" (April
30th issue), he makes the admittedly absurd proposal that we start
torturing inmates in our local jail. Though Aussenberg's tongue was
firmly in his cheek, I have no doubt there are many hereabouts who
would find that a fine strategy for crime prevention.

We have George W. Bush and Dick Cheney to thank for putting this
nation on the slippery slope to breaking the rule of law whenever it is
deemed "necessary."

The real truth is that, for the most part, the U.S. wasn't torturing
prisoners to learn about al-Qaeda terrorism. They were torturing them
to make them "admit" to some sort of connection between Iraq and the
9/11 attacks. Along with "yellow cake" uranium, false mobile nuclear
lab "evidence," and the "smoking mushroom cloud" rhetoric, torture was
simply another tool to lie this country into an unnecessary war.
Attorney General Eric Holder needs to pursue the facts behind this
stain on our nation's honor all the way to the top. The rule of law
applies to all citizens — even those holding the highest offices
in the land.